Lifetime Fitness, King of Prussia, partially closes as sinkhole is investigated

TREDYFFRIN >> Indoor paddle board yoga and other activities at a swanky new fitness club in King of Prussia will be on hold for the moment as an investigation into a possible sinkhole continues.

According to 6abc.com, three months after Lifetime Athletic debuted on Swedesford Road, part of the facility had to be shut down when a hole suddenly opened up under the indoor pool.

An image of the hole was posted on the gym’s membership Facebook page, 6abc.com noted, but apparently has now been taken down, as notices of activities at the outdoor pool are posted.

Lifetime members reported to Digital First Media the club’s apparent reticence to provide details about the hole, but they were unwilling to be interviewed.

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Lifetime Athletic management did not return phone calls.

Matt Bowmann, director of planning and zoning for Tredyffrin Township, said he had no comment, “due to the fact that we are still gathering information and intelligence.”

Noting that he had met with the club’s geo-tech engineers, Bowmann said he could not confirm the existence of a sinkhole.

“We’re still waiting for the reports to come in,” he said. “The site is stabilized and fenced off from the public.”

According to 6abc.com, a Lifetime spokesman noted that the collapse was triggered by water eroding the soil beneath the pool deck and that the pool was scheduled for demolition.

In an email to members, 6abc.com further reported, there was no mention of the collapse, but members were notified that the inside pool would be closed and the club’s outdoor pool would extend the season until the end of September.

For many, the issue may bring back memories of sinkhole rumors plaguing King of Prussia for years, including the early ’80s construction of The Court at King of Prussia, the companion mall to the original Plaza.

Following a June 2013 ceremony honoring Arthur L. Powell, the man whose vision launched The Plaza at King of Prussia in 1963, Powell’s son, Richard Powell, said that even in his 90s, Powell had still been regularly consulted on construction issues because “he really knows every little sinkhole” in King of Prussia.